Building Professional Capacity for Soil Action: SoilTribes Train-the-Trainers Session in Cluj

On 5 May 2026, AgroTransilvania Cluster organized a full-day SoilTribes Train-the-Trainers Session at IRCEM in Cluj, Romania. The activity brought together 44 professionals to explore how the Studio Approach can support collaborative learning, stakeholder engagement, and action planning for soil health and sustainable land management.

The session focused on strengthening the capacity of advisors and trainers to use and independently facilitate the Studio Approach within their own professional contexts and networks.

Advisors, trainers, researchers, educators, consultants, and professional networks can play an important role in helping farmers, businesses, institutions, and local actors understand soil-related challenges and develop appropriate responses.

The Train-the-Trainers Session was designed to equip these professionals with a practical methodology that they can apply beyond a single event. Rather than focusing only on theoretical knowledge, the training supported participants in understanding how to facilitate collaborative processes, guide discussions, develop ideas, and move groups towards concrete action.

A diverse professional learning environment 

The session brought together 44 participants from different professional backgrounds.

The audience included soil advisors and Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems professionals, trainers and vocational education professionals, researchers and academics, cluster and association representatives, economic consultants, and planners. This diversity created a strong basis for knowledge exchange.

Applying the Studio Approach 

The Studio Approach provides a structured process through which participants can explore challenges, understand stakeholder needs, generate ideas, select promising directions, develop prototypes, and establish action plans.

The session was led by Felix Arion, with Viorelia Rosca serving as co-facilitator. Together, they guided participants through an eight-phase structure covering the complete learning and action-planning process.

The training began with a kick-off phase that introduced the methodology, objectives, and working process. Participants then moved into an empathise phase, focusing on the perspectives, needs, and experiences connected to the challenges being explored.

During the ideation phase, participants generated possible ideas and responses. The convergence phase supported them in reviewing and prioritizing these ideas, while the prototyping phase helped transform selected concepts into more concrete and testable approaches.

The process continued with action planning, encouraging participants to consider how the methodology and ideas could be transferred into their own professional contexts. Follow-up formed an important part of the structure, reinforcing the understanding that meaningful engagement continues after the end of a training session.

By moving through each stage, participants experienced the methodology not only as learners, but also from the perspective of future facilitators.

From participation to commitment

The activity produced a clear follow-up output: all 44 participants completed session commitment forms.

The collection of 44 commitment forms demonstrates a direct connection between participation and future engagement. These forms captured participants’ commitment to continue working with the methodology and consider its application within their own contexts.

Through activities such as this Train-the-Trainers Session, SoilTribes continues to connect knowledge with participation and participation with action. By equipping professionals to guide others, the project strengthens the networks needed to support healthier soils and more sustainable land management.